"This way, watch your step!" Milo led Lila through a narrow passage, its walls lined with twisted pipes and flickering light strips. He nimbly climbed over a few collapsed metal plates. "This is a secret route—most people don’t know about it. The fight pit’s not open to just anyone; you’ve gotta be in the know to get in."

  The air inside the passage mingled the smell of rusted metal with an indescribable burnt-electronics tang. Moss-like fluorescent plants clung to the walls, glowing faintly blue-green in the dark, lighting the winding path ahead.

  Lila followed, deftly dodging cables dangling from above. "So you go there a lot? A kid like you hanging out in a place like that—does your grandpa know?"

  Milo grinned smugly. "Of course he doesn’t! If the old man found out, he’d lock me in a room to memorize books for sure." He explained as they went, "The best mechanics in the underground are there—I’ve learned tons from them."

  The passage gradually widened, and faint cheers and the clang of metal echoed ahead, the sound reverberating through the pipes in a low, rhythmic hum. Milo guided Lila through a hidden door disguised as a junk pile—actually a clever set of hydraulic hinges that required a specific push-pull to open—and the view suddenly opened up. They stepped into a space concealed within a massive abandoned industrial pipe.

  The mechanical fight pit was a circular arena, surrounded by an odd assortment of seats—some salvaged from transport ships, others just simple metal crates, and a few folks even hung from the pipes above, secured by ropes, swaying as they peered down at the action. The center was a sunken metal disc, its edges rigged with obstacles and traps: spinning saw blades, sudden steam vents, and shifting platforms that changed height, each meticulously designed to add unpredictability and thrill to the matches.

  The air carried the scent of machine oil, the heat of grinding metal, and a unique mix of dust kicked up by the shouting crowd. Dozens of jury-rigged lamps hung overhead, flickering in different colors, illuminating the arena and casting shifting shadows across the excited faces of the spectators.

  Lila scanned the scene, raising an eyebrow and commenting offhandedly, "This really is a neat spot, kid. If you put half this effort into your grandpa’s clinic, maybe he wouldn’t nag you about exams all the time."

  Milo scrunched his brow, his face twisting in disgust as he scoffed, "Exams? You don’t know how gross the Federation Technical Certification Exam is! They force you to memorize pointless junk every day—makes you wanna rip your brain out and stuff it with data and formulas! I’d rather mess with machines here for life than take a single day of that test!"

  Lila let out a soft hum. "Honestly, I’m kinda curious what kind of fresh tricks you underground brats can pull off."

  No sooner had she spoken than a group of kids around Milo’s age popped out of the crowd. They were dressed weirdly but brimming with energy, their eyes sharp with mischief and smarts.

  "Hey, Milo! You finally made it!" a girl with red braids shouted, waving her arms. Her cheeks were streaked with oil smudges like battlefield camo. "The spider’s ready! Next match is about to start!" Wire bracelets coiled around her wrists clinked faintly with her movements.

  Another boy, wearing sunglasses with a bandage wrapped around his forehead, grinned cheekily and added, "The guy we’re up against is super cocky—says he spent big bucks on fancy Federation Company parts and totally looks down on us scrap-pickers. You’ve gotta teach him a lesson this time!" His left hand sported a modded mechanical glove, its thumb fitted with a tiny screen flashing data nonstop.

  Milo hopped excitedly to the edge of the arena, thumping his chest as he hollered back, "Don’t worry, my spider’s gonna win today for sure!" He turned and winked at Lila. "Just watch!"

  As the referee waved a flag, the match kicked off. The mechanical spider sprang to life, its eight slender legs moving with agility and precision, darting and leaping across the metal disc. The crowd erupted in wild cheers and screams.

  The spectators around the arena were already getting rowdy—some waved crudely made flags painted with mechanical beast designs; others pulled out food and drinks, sharing with friends. The vibe was tense yet festive, like an underground carnival.

  With the referee—a burly guy decked out in mechanical mods—waving the flag, the match officially began. The mechanical spider sprang to life, its eight slender legs moving with agility and precision, darting and leaping across the metal disc, each step deftly avoiding obstacles and traps. Its shell, crafted from recycled aluminum alloy, glinted a dim blue under the lights, and the hydraulic joints hissed faintly, showcasing surprising flexibility. The crowd erupted in wild cheers and screams, the noise rising wave after wave.

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  Lila watched the spider’s movements closely, lifting a brow in mild surprise. "Not bad at all."

  Milo grinned proudly. "Damn right it is!"

  The opponent controlled a mechanical mantis, a clearly pricier rig with a sleek shell and shiny joints. Its handler, a flashy-dressed teen, smirked and taunted loudly, "Watch and learn, brats! This is the Federation Company’s latest servo motor—I’m winning this hands down!" His voice dripped with arrogance and contempt, earning a chorus of boos.

  But in just a few minutes, the mechanical spider cleverly used a jamming signal to cripple the mantis’s motion system. The mantis let out a squeaky buzz of static and collapsed in the center of the arena, sparking a thunderous cheer from the stands.

  “How’s that!” Milo crowed at Lila, a challenging edge to his voice. “Way more fun than exams, right?”

  Lila smirked, her tone sharp. “Getting all smug after one win? Federation junk’s trash, sure, but your spider’s still miles from real tech.”

  Milo bristled, not quite convinced, but he caught the hint in her words. “Sounds like you know a lot!”

  “No shit,” Lila shrugged nonchalantly. “Back in the day, I was picking through scrap in the junkyard, piecing stuff together bit by bit on my own. Compared to that, you kids have it like paradise now.”

  Milo’s eyes lit up. “For real? The junkyard? You taught yourself too?”

  “What, you think I’d go take some shitty Federation Technical Certification?” Lila sneered. “Those exams are all brainwashing—they don’t teach real skills to brats like you.”

  The kids around them nodded eagerly in agreement, jumping in to show off their own quirky contraptions:

  “Look at this!” the sunglasses kid held up a pair of gloves sparking with electromagnetic bursts. “Electro-gloves—crackle and pop when you hit, super badass!”

  The red-braid girl smugly stepped onto a magnetic hoverboard floating midair, spinning a stylish circle. “Magnetic hoverboard! Way cooler than any Federation Technical Certification Exam!”

  Another boy pulled out a mini drone, grinning. “This drone’s for messing with annoying adults—tracks targets and sprays water or zaps ‘em. So much fun!”

  Lila eyed their gadgets, the corner of her mouth twitching up into her first real smile. “You brats’ve got some creativity, I’ll give you that.”

  Just then, the referee announced the second match, and a massive armored robot rose slowly from the center of the arena. Its thick metal plates reflected blinding light, the hammer at the end of its mechanical arm crackling with dangerous electricity. Each slight movement rumbled with a heavy mechanical roar, like a steel beast. Its controller stood in the shadows, only a tall silhouette visible, but the confident stance sent a chill through the air.

  “Oh no, it’s ‘The Destroyer’!” the red-braid girl’s face paled, shouting nervously, “Milo, watch out—this thing’s crazy strong! Last time, it smashed ‘Steel Titan’ into scrap with one hit!”

  The arena’s vibe tensed up instantly, the crowd holding their breath for the fight ahead. The lights seemed to sharpen, bathing the center disc in a piercing white glow.

  Milo’s face turned serious, teeth clenched as he maneuvered the spider into a fierce tangle with The Destroyer. Each swing of The Destroyer’s hammer shook the arena, even cratering the floor with deep pits. The spider dodged by a hair’s breadth, barely evading each blow, its hydraulic legs blaring warning sounds.

  Lila held her breath, frowning as she watched. “This ain’t looking good, kid. One more hit, and those hydraulic legs are toast!”

  No sooner had she spoken than a brutal hammer strike slammed the spider, sending it flying several meters. It crashed to the ground, struggling to stand steady. A wave of disappointed sighs rolled through the stands.

  “Milo!” An old mechanic with a gray beard leapt up from the crowd, shouting anxiously, “The Destroyer’s left shoulder bearing’s its weak spot! Hit its servo circuits with the jammer now!”

  Milo snapped awake, quickly steering the spider with its last ounce of strength toward The Destroyer’s left shoulder. The spider unleashed a high-frequency electromagnetic burst, and The Destroyer’s arm froze midair, locked stiff.

  “Now’s your shot!” Lila urged, tense.

  The spider darted into The Destroyer’s blind spot, slicing its core wiring. The Destroyer crashed down with a deafening thud, and the arena exploded in ear-splitting cheers.

  After the match, Milo ran to Lila, buzzing with excitement. “You saw that, right? We won!”

  Lila cracked a rare warm smile. “Not bad. But those hydraulic legs need something sturdier, or you’re screwed next time.”

  Milo nodded thoughtfully. “I still learn stuff in these matches—exams just torture you. What’s the point?”

  Lila caught the confusion in his voice and said lightly, “What you hate isn’t learning itself—it’s just the Federation Technical Certification Exam’s style. Real learning’s free and fun.”

  Milo froze, then nodded slowly after a moment, lost in thought. “Now that you put it that way, it kinda makes sense…”

  The kids at the sidelines waved them over eagerly. Milo hesitated, then took a deep breath and said, “Come with me—I wanna show you a really special place. But you’ve gotta promise not to tell anyone, especially my grandpa.”

  Lila raised an eyebrow, her curiosity fully ignited. “Relax, I promise.”

  The two slipped quietly away from the buzzing fight pit, heading toward a deeper, more hidden part of the underground.